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New paintings highlight Silver Falls

Neal “Peace” Yasami worked as artist-in-residence at Silver Falls State Park for five months, creating 19 paintings that captured the essence of the state park east of Salem.(Photo: Zach Urness / Statesman Journal)Buy Photo

Each morning for almost five months, Neal Yasami would load his painting supplies into a little wagon and head into the wilds of Silver Falls State Park.

In rain and occasional sleet, on days so cold the waterfalls were covered in ice and on sunny afternoons when the trails were full of inquisitive children, the man everyone calls "Peace" sat with paintbrush in hand, working to capture the essence of Oregon's largest state park.

"If it was raining, I set up an umbrella, which made it a bit easier," said Yasami, who worked as artist-in-residence at Silver Falls from November to this spring. "There were some really cold days when I had three jackets on, warmers on my hands, warms on my feet, and I was still pretty cold just moving my paintbrush.

"That experience made it all the more real, and I really believe make the paintings more authentic."

The result of that dedication is 19 new paintings hanging in the entryway of South Falls Lodge. The paintings include every waterfall and most of the park's major landmarks and have brought fresh life to an area previously occupied by a handful of faded photographs from the 1970s.

"It has been a major improvement," park manager Kevin Strandberg said. "The response so far has been 100 percent positive, which you don't normally see when you change something here."

The story of how Yasami ended up at Silver Falls begins with a very long bike ride.

After studying, working and teaching around the United States and the world — Hawaii, Nebraska, Germany, Arizona and Italy, to name just a few — he found himself in Oregon taking care of his mother in Eugene.

"I was working and painting in the studio, but it felt like I was missing this grander opportunity that Oregon affords, so I got on my bike and went for a ride," he said. "I had this urging to go to Silver Falls — it was like I didn't have a choice — so I pedaled 85 miles over hills to get there."

Yasami inquired whether Silver Falls had an "artist-in-residence" program akin to what's offered at national parks.

"He came in, and we just started talking it over," said Strandberg, who eventually agreed to give Yasami a cabin to stay in for five months, along with the cost of materials, for what ended up being 19 paintings. "It was great for us and good for him too, since over 1 million people will see his work."

In the painting process, Yasami said some of his favorite moments were interacting with the public. As he sat at his easel, children would come up and watch him paint.

"Children often didn't say anything, they just come up and watch me paint," he said. "I'd ask them, 'Are you a painter? What do you like to paint?' Just being around all the people was a great experience."

The paintings feature the park's 10 well-known waterfalls — including multiple views of a few — but also lesser-known spots such as the Old Ranch. Built in the early 1900s for sheep and today a converted facility for events including weddings, the Old Ranch required every bit of Yasami's skill to capture.

"Technically, it was the most difficult because I had to use everything I knew about painting," he said. "It ended up being my favorite."

The most challenging part was being away from his family, including his girlfriend. But it also was rewarding to spend such focused energy getting to know the park's 9,000 acres, he said.

"It was difficult on relationships, but was really a very special time for me, a bit of a 'Walden-pond'-like experience," he said, referencing Henry David Thoreau classic. "I could really take the time devoted to the craft, almost to the exclusion of everything else."

Strandberg said one of the best things about the paintings are that they captured the park as a whole. People can see them and experience a part of the park they might not be able to reach.

"It gives visitors an overview of the whole park," Strandberg said. "It's a complete collection of work that brings a lot to Silver Falls."

Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for seven years. He is the author of the book "Hiking Southern Oregon" and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Facebook at Zach's Oregon Outdoors or @ZachsORoutdoors on Twitter.

The Peace Artist

To contact Yasami or see his work, go to thepeaceartist.com or email peace@thepeaceartist.com.